Descent Into Madness
by IceButterfly88
Summary: Sasuke's heartache as he tells Naruto of Sakura's slow, agonizing descent into madness... A 3-part story and rated M for dark themes. SasukeXSakura.
1. Chapter 1

Sasuke and Naruto were sat on wooden chairs, waiting just outside Hokage Tsunade's office. Sasuke was slumped down in his chair, absent-mindedly twirling his sheathed sword between his fingers into the floor. His eyes were blank, unseeing. Naruto turned towards Sasuke in his chair, eyebrows furrowed.

"Will you please tell me what's going on now, Sasuke?" Naruto asked the downcast Uchiha. He was getting seriously worried about his friend. Sasuke had been back in the village for two years now and had been genuinely happy. Naruto had seen a carefree, fun-loving side to Sasuke he didn't know existed up until five months ago. Since then, Sasuke had gradually withdrawn socially, failing to engage in conversation and eventually he had stopped leaving the house altogether. This was the first time he'd left the confines of his home and the first time that Naruto had physically seen more than the Uchiha's deep crimson eyes from behind a small crack in his front door for nearly two months. He just couldn't understand what had changed.

"Please, Sasuke..." Naruto entreated cautiously "Is it something to do with... Sakura?"

Sasuke's breath caught at the back of his throat at mentioning of that name. Naruto carefully analysed the Uchiha's face as it creased and silent tears began to stream down his cheeks. Naruto suddenly felt physically sick with worry.

"Sasuke, if something's happened to Sakura, you have to tell me now!" he stood, almost toppling his chair over and towering over Sasuke. "Is she hurt?"

Sasuke took in a few shuddering breaths before lifting his tear-drenched face up to the visibly shaking Naruto. "Sit down, Naruto. There are a few things you should probably know..."

Naruto, now on the verge of tears himself slowly sat back down on his wooden chair, not once taking his eyes off of Sasuke.

Sasuke leaned his head back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling, tears still cascading down his face. "You know... obviously, that Sakura and myself have been a couple for a year and a half now." He took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he now couldn't keep a secret any longer, especially from his and Sakura's best friend.

"Well it's been great, Naruto. I'm so in love with her. Without her my life would have no meaning, no purpose... I'd be an empty shell. She was the part missing from my soul, for all those years." Sasuke choked a small laugh "I was such a prat back then. She was right there, in front of me all along and I couldn't even see it."

Sasuke clenched his fists and tightened his jaw to prevent himself from having a complete breakdown. "I know you understand what I'm talking about here. It's the same for you and Hinata. She completes you in the same way that Sakura completes me."

Naruto nodded in agreement, knowing full well what Sasuke meant but continued to listen intently. His stomach was churning in a way that told him something was very wrong here. He was terrified at the direction this conversation was going.

Sasuke swallowed. A large lump had formed in his throat making it difficult for him to go any further but he pressed on. This was it. Naruto had to know now. "I suppose I first noticed something wasn't quite right about..." Sasuke breathed in deeply "...five months ago now... Sakura has never been a jealous girlfriend. She's always been one hundred percent certain of where she stood with me since we got together. I've treated her with all the love she deserves from me and more. If she wanted it, I'd physically tear out my own heart to give it to her." Sasuke paused for a long moment while he collected himself.

"I'd just returned from a mission with Ino and Shikamaru somewhere between Suna and the River Country. I'd been away for just over a week and needless to say all I could think about from the moment I left to the moment I returned was seeing Sakura's face and holding her in my arms... It was about 9pm when we arrived back in Konoha and I'd asked Ino and Shikamaru to go ahead and report to the Hokage without me. I wanted to waste no more time not seeing her, not holding her... But..." Sasuke stopped again, leaning forward, fresh tears spilling onto the floor "I walked through the door, I called her name... She was so mad at me..."

**X**

_Sasuke ducked to the side as a plate was hurled at his head and crashed into the wall beside him. He tried to approach her but she continued to throw whatever she could at him, screaming at him to get away from her._

_"Get AWAY from me Sasuke! You can't act normal after spending over a WEEK with that fucking Ino!" Sakura screamed at him, tears streaming down her cheeks. She grabbed a table lamp, wrenching the plug out the wall and threw it at Sasuke's head._

_"Sakura, please stop this! I don't understand; please tell me what I've done to upset you!" cried Sasuke as he dodged yet another plate._

_"I've been here, Sasuke. For over a week worried sick about whether you were going to come back to me! Worrying about what that sly bitch Ino would do, having you all to herself!" Sakura, now out of things to throw backed away from Sasuke across the kitchen. "She's ALWAYS wanted you, Sasuke! She's ALWAYS tried to take you from me!"_

_Sasuke, still trying to approach the enraged, tearful kunoichi jumped back as she hurled the round kitchen table over at him. "Sakura, what are you talking about? I love YOU! I've always loved you, why would I ever want to hurt you? Please Sakura, this is ridiculous!" He started to cry too, feeling helpless and not knowing what to do to calm down his pink-haired beauty._

_"You'll leave me for her! I know it!" She yelled at him, pulling at her own hair. Sakura was backed into a corner now, with nothing to throw or to defend herself with. Sasuke cautiously and slowly stepped towards her, hands raised up to show he wasn't going to hurt her. Sakura completely freaked out, totally losing herself in despair and anger. She sent a barrage of punches into the Uchiha's chest, forgetting even to use her signature move in using chakra to strengthen the punches._

_Sasuke took the punches, allowed her to hit him and waiting for her to exhaust herself before she fell weakly against his chest, sobbing and clutching onto his shirt. He carefully wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight against him. He leaned down, breathing in her scent to calm his senses. After a few minutes he spoke in a low, gentle voice "Sakura... You are the reason for my existence. I would never leave you. Ever. I love you."_

_Sakura, still leaning helplessly against him whispered "I love you too..."_

**X**

Naruto's eyes were wide with horror "Sakura... Sakura did that?"

Sasuke nodded "But that's only the beginning..."

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**1/3 **

**Just so you guys know, this is only a 3-part story. Constructive criticism welcome :) **


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto continued to stare at Sasuke in complete disbelief for a very long while. There was just no way that Sakura would behave like that – especially towards her beloved Uchiha. He had seen the two together on many occasions and was always amazed by how completely devoted they were to each other – like they lived in an entirely different world together. The two quite literally worshiped one another.

"So..." Began Naruto, "What... what do you mean by 'that was just the beginning'? Has it been like that ever since?"

Sasuke hadn't moved. He looked as though he didn't have the strength to do so. "Tch... I wish, Naruto. I wish things were as simple as that..."

Naruto creased his brow in confusion "Simple... what part of that can be described as 'simple'?"

Sasuke sighed, wiping the tears away with his forearm. "After that, I just assumed it was because she'd had a really bad day; or a hard time while I was away. I quickly forgot about it and we continued on as normal. But then it happened again. And then it started becoming a weekly occurrence... Before I knew it, not a day went by where she wasn't screaming at me and crying about feeling abandoned. I tried to console her as often as I could. I tried to explain to her that no-one compared to her – that she was my soul mate. I told her so many times that not even death could keep me from her." Sasuke scoffed at that last sentence. "Clearly she wasn't thinking the same..."

"...what happened, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, fearing that he already knew the answer to this one.

"It was about two months ago..." Sasuke began "That things started to get... really bad..." Sasuke said, looking sideways at his yellow-haired friend. "You will never... ever, understand the torment – I hope you never do – of seeing your own beautiful angel on the floor, in a pool of her own blood..."

**X**

_Sasuke casually walked through the well-lit corridor of Konoha Hospital and approached the front desk "Good afternoon Mafune-san," He light-heartedly greeted the pretty female receptionist "I'm here to pick Sakura up from work."_

_The dark-haired receptionist looked confused as she replied "There must be some mistake, Sasuke. Sakura didn't show up for work today. I was hoping you would be able to tell us why, in fact."_

_Sasuke scratched the back of his head in equal confusion "How strange... that's not like her to miss work. She must not be feeling well and spent the day at home." He concluded before thanking the receptionist and returning home._

_On entering his house, he was struck by how silent it was... The atmosphere felt heavy and something didn't feel right. Something REALLY didn't feel right... "Sakura!" he called, slowly making his way through the house, peaking round each doorway as he went. And then he reached the bathroom... He fell to his knees, legs unable to hold his weight as he looked down at the sight that changed his life forever. "S-...Sa...ku...ra? he stammered, crawling weakly towards her limp body that was haphazardly propped up against the bath. Her limbs were sprawled, one hand holding onto an almost-empty bottle of sake and the other a bloodied razor. She had drunken herself into a stupor and slashed her wrists deep enough for her crimson blood to pool underneath her. Sasuke reached towards her face; her hair strewn messily across it, her eyes half-lidded and glazed over and her cheeks wet with tears..._

**X**

"WHAT?" Naruto shouted, throwing back his chair as he stood. "She's... is she...?"

"No." Sasuke cut him off quickly. "No she isn't. She was very close though. It was so lucky I got there when I did." Sasuke let his grip on his sword go and he leaned forward on his elbows, palms pressed into his eyes as if trying to erase what had been burned into his vision forever. "And it certainly doesn't get any easier... seeing the one you love attempting to take her own life."

Naruto had crossed the hallway and sat opposite Sasuke, leaning his back against the wall "Sakura has tried to kill herself more than once?" he exclaimed.

"Yes, Naruto. She has. It's why I stopped leaving the house. I figured she needed my constant care and attention after that. And I was far too selfish and afraid to let the Hokage know what had been happening. I was afraid that..." Sasuke's sentence trailed off.

"Afraid that what?" Naruto asked.

"Afraid that... Well I was just afraid."

"How did you even manage to keep Sakura's..." Naruto swallowed "Suicide attempts... a secret from Tsunade-baachan?"

"Shizune." Sasuke said promptly. He let his forearms drop down, still leaning forward on his elbows as he looked up at Naruto. His eyes looked empty, as though all the fight had gone out of him completely. "I made her swear to me that she wouldn't breathe a word. I got her to come to the house each time it happened to heal her in secret. She tried to get me to take her to the hospital but I just couldn't face everybody knowing..." Sasuke clenched his fists and gritted his teeth "That was when another complication became apparent..."

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**2/3. **

**Again, reviews would really be appreciated. **


	3. Chapter 3

"...Complication? What do you mean?" Naruto asked "How could it become any more complicated?"

Sasuke fidgeted, uncomfortable with the explanation he now had to give "About a month ago... she... She started..." Sasuke rubbed his right eye with his palm in frustration "She started talking to someone... someone I couldn't see..." He bowed his head down, hair falling to mask his face "I know what you're going to say... 'How could you not see somebody that she can? You have the sharingan.' I wondered the same thing for a while. I came to a conclusion, however and it's not good, Naruto."

Naruto carefully watched his friend in silence, waiting for more bad news to weigh down his already heavy heart.

"It's because..." Sasuke looked up into Naruto's anticipating eyes "this person doesn't even exist."

Naruto maintained eye contact as he asked "...How can she be talking to someone who doesn't exist? That doesn't make sense..."

Sasuke's face was completely serious "Quite honestly, I really don't know. I don't understand it myself. I would hear her now and again, having hushed conversations with somebody but I would never let on that I'd heard her. I wanted to monitor her behaviour without her realising it so I could try to work out what was wrong... without getting the Hokage involved... It would always seem to be idle chitchat, but the last time I heard her doing this, it... well it was disturbing..."

**X**

_Sasuke awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright in their bed. It was past midnight and the moon's soft glow threw a lustrous silvery light across the bed, highlighting the fact that he was alone. He looked directly to the empty pillow next to him – an indent at the centre where Sakura's head had previously been rested. The blanket was ruffled where she'd at some point climbed out. Panic began to rise in his chest as he threw back the covers and jumped out in one swift movement. Nearing the open bedroom door he could hear a whispering voice coming from the sitting room. He silently activated his sharingan and slowly made his way towards the voice. As he got closer, he could hear that it was Sakura speaking in hushed tones... to someone else. He crept towards the open sitting room door and peeked round the corner to see his beloved sitting on the floor at the far end of the room, knees hugged to her chest and looking intently to her left. She appeared to be deep in conversation..._

"_I just don't know why you have to visit me in the middle of the night; Sasuke is going to get suspicious!" She said in an accusing tone to the unseen intruder. She paused and spoke again "...well what did you want to tell me this time?"_

_Sasuke actively searched the room with his sharingan although he knew no one but Sakura was there already. He had witnessed her doing this a number of times and had only ever sensed her presence. He watched silently as she continued to converse with the person that only she could see and hear._

"_...she did what? That fucking Ino-pig is really asking for it, Shibakawa-san..." she paused, apparently listening "...so what do you suggest we do?" Again Sakura paused for a long while, giving the occasional 'hai' as she listened to the invisible person. "...you might be right, Shibakawa-san, it can't wait any longer. Anyway, I'd better get back to bed before he realises I'm not there..."_

_Sasuke then stepped out of the shadow of the doorway and into the sitting room "Who are you speaking to, sweetheart?"_

_Sakura stood abruptly, startled by Sasuke's silent entrance into the room. "Sasuke! I'm sorry – I can explain, he was just tell-" she cut off her sentence as she looked back to the left and relaxed her shoulders. "O-oh... It's okay, never mind."_

_Sasuke's expression remained neutral to convince her that he hadn't heard her conversation. He slowly approached his love and gently placed both of his warm hands on either side of her face. Tilting her head up slightly, he leaned down to softly kiss her forehead. "Come back to bed, Sakura. It's cold in here." _

**X**

Naruto was now leaned forward, elbows rested on his knees and with hands clasped together in front of him. "So... ah, Sasuke I really don't understand! And what was all that about Ino again?"

Sasuke moved his hands down to either side of the wooden chair and gripped it until his knuckles turned white "I feel so goddamn guilty... Why wasn't I there to stop her?!"

Naruto looked back at Sasuke as he went slightly off track "Stop her... from what, Sasuke?"

"Ino... Sakura tried to murder Ino."

**X**

_Sasuke emerged from the bathroom, roughly towel-drying his rebelliously spiky hair as he made his way to the kitchen. He had left Sakura to eat her pancakes whilst he took a quick shower. _

"_Are you enjoying your pancakes, Saku..." he trailed off as he stepped into the kitchen and realised Sakura wasn't there. The pancakes were sat still steaming and untouched upon the table. Confused, Sasuke briskly walked to the sitting room and called to her "Sakura?" she wasn't there either. _

_As dread began to knot in his stomach, he ran from room to room throughout the large Uchiha house, each call of her name becoming more panicked as it dawned on him that she had gone. How long had he left her alone? Ten, maybe fifteen minutes?_

_Sasuke ran from the house, almost pouncing on everyone he saw to ask if they had seen her as he desperately searched the village. _

_Reaching the main gates, he demanded to know whether the gatekeepers had seen her leave the village._

"_Sakura? The little pink-haired ninja? Yes, she passed through this way and off into the woods with Ino about ten minutes ago. They didn't say where they were going. Is something wrong?" _

_Sasuke's stomach clenched, a bad sense of foreboding washing over him. He didn't stop to answer the gatekeeper as he sprinted through the gates and into the woods. He activated his sharingan and leapt up into the trees, moving fast and in the direction that had been pointed out. He dashed through the trees, frantically searching for the pair until he stopped dead. Sasuke's heart felt like a stone in his chest as he looked down upon the sight that chilled him to the core. There had been a pretty serious fight, and there was blood everywhere. And Sakura... His Sakura was splashed with blood and covered with dirt... and she was laughing. She was on her knees, using both her hands and arms to scrape the freshly dug up earth back into the hole it came from. Sasuke could see Ino's face, beaten and bloody as Sakura slowly covered her over with dirt._

"_...yes Shibakawa-san. I knew it would be easy, too. We definitely showed that fucking Ino-pig this time!" Sakura said with malice. She then stopped what she was doing and burst into a fit of giggles. She looked towards the nearby pool of blood and slid her hand into it, feeling the texture against the grass before lifting her dripping hand and running it down her arm, basking in the feel of Ino's warm, fresh blood on her skin. She continued to laugh and rock on her knees as Sasuke watched on, completely mortified..._

**X**

Naruto was lost for words. Nausea came over him in waves as he stared down hard at the floor, desperately trying to convince himself that Sasuke was lying. He couldn't even picture such a scenario! There's no way that could be true. Sakura may have had a short temper but she would never go to such extremes... Yeah she would throw the occasional punch but she would never actually try to hurt anyone...

Then he realised that Ino had in fact been in the hospital for a few weeks and had only just recovered within the past few days. He had never found out why, he just assumed that something had gone wrong on a mission.

"So... that's why Ino was in the hospital for such a long time." Naruto stated more than actually asking his friend.

Sasuke nodded "Yeah, although she can't remember any of it, luckily. So it was kept a secret between myself and the Hokage..."

"Tsunade-baachan knew about that?!" Naruto said with outrage, looking up at Sasuke.

"Yes... but we had to keep a secret, Naruto. Can you imagine what the rest of the village would do if they found out?!" Sasuke explained.

"Tch." Naruto said, looking down at the floor again with anger in his eyes. "So... what happened after that?" Naruto asked, not sure if he really wanted to know the rest of the story.

"Well, it was actually at that moment that the Hokage and Shizune showed up... I don't know how they knew but they took care of things after that."

"Took care of things?" Naruto asked "So where is she now?"

At that moment, the door to the Hokage's office opened and out came Tsunade, closely followed by Shizune. "That's why we're here..."

Without another word, Sasuke stood from his chair and began to follow Tsunade and Shizune down the corridor. Naruto followed suit. They all walked in silence, Sasuke's shoulders slumped and head slightly bowed as they went. They walked to the end of the corridor and through a door that was rarely opened and always guarded. In single file, they made their way through a dimly lit passageway that twisted and turned and seemed to go on forever. The silence was almost unbearable to Naruto but he remained unusually quiet.

Finally they reached a heavy-looking metal door that was watched by another two guards. On opening the door, Naruto could hear that someone was singing in a high-pitched voice and frequently dragging out the notes much longer than usual in a way that made it sound eerie and somewhat unsettling.

As they entered the room, Naruto threw his hand against the wall to stop his knees from buckling at the sight before him. Sakura was strapped down to a bed in the centre of the room that restrained her in numerous places across the torso and limbs. The heavy door shut behind them and Sakura fell silent for a brief moment. Without even turning her head to look at them, she sang "Saaaa-suuuu-keeeee... Are you coming to set me free today, Saaaa-sukeeeee?"

"What the- what the hell is wrong with her, Tsunade-baachan?"Naruto asked, unable to take his eyes from the pink-haired girl he could barely recognise.

"A number of things, it seems" Tsunade replied. "First of all it was Borderline Personality Disorder but along the way she has developed a severe case of Schizophrenia."

Sasuke approached Sakura who giggled to herself, straining her hands against the bounds across her wrists in an attempt to reach towards him. "Shibakawa-san has a plan, Saaaasuke! He says it'll be just you and me again... soon. Very soon..."

"How do we help her?" Naruto asked, almost pleading with Tsunade.

"We can't..." Tsunade answered "There's nothing we can do. Her mind is too far gone..."

Everyone remained silent for a few moments, watching the couple before them with heavy hearts. Naruto watched as Sasuke brushed one of Sakura's extended hands with the tips of his fingers before enveloping her small hand in his. His other hand brushed through her pink tresses and gently caressed her cheek. "I'm so sorry, Sakura... I'm sorry I couldn't help you. I'm sorry I couldn't keep you safe... I'm sorry I couldn't give you the life you deserve." Sasuke leaned down and placed a firm kiss on Sakura's forehead. "My soul has always been yours, Sakura... my sweet cherry blossom. And it will forever be right there with you, wherever you are."

Sasuke scrunched his eyes shut as he turned away from the love of his life, desperately battling with his emotions as Sakura began to shout after him "Sasukeeeee? What about the plan? Sasuke?! SASUKEEEE!" She fought against her bounds, writhing and screaming Sasuke's name.

Everyone exited the room, followed by Sakura's blood-chilling screams before they were abruptly shut off by the heavy metal door slamming shut behind them.


End file.
